I just heard a little bit. Franco Harris is a whore, and Lynn Swann may be using this as a political means to an end, but Mark has no worries using Lynn to keep the pens in town. So vote for Lynn. He also took a shot at LGP.com because some of us said plan B is ok as an alternative in case IoC falls through. And we're all a bunch of non-social dorks who use a message board for our social life. And someone called in (maybe one of us) and said "Funny how you rip on message board posters when you post as well." TO which he replied something like he rarely posts, and just wants to see what the fans are thinking. But he said the Wrestling message boards makes us sound like harvard grads. Wooooooo

I really, really hope for a lot of reasons that the IoC plan wins the license. I love the prospects for the revitalization of that entire area. I see what PNC Park has begun to do for the North Side, and I've seen what Nationwide Arena has done for the immediate surrounding neighborhoods in Columbus, and I can't help but think this arena could do the same for the area. And on top of that, it's the most expedient way to the new arena. It absolutely, positively guarantees that the Pens stay in Pittsburgh.

But...

At the end of the day, if either Barden's group or Harrah's gets the license, Plan B is still OK'd, and the Pens stay here, I can certainly live with that. It's for my own selfish reasons - namely, that it would still keep the Pens here, and I'd be lying if I said that wasn't the most important thing to me out of this whole process.

I really, really hope for a lot of reasons that the IoC plan wins the license. I love the prospects for the revitalization of that entire area. I see what PNC Park has begun to do for the North Side, and I've seen what Nationwide Arena has done for the immediate surrounding neighborhoods in Columbus, and I can't help but think this arena could do the same for the area. And on top of that, it's the most expedient way to the new arena. It absolutely, positively guarantees that the Pens stay in Pittsburgh.

But...

At the end of the day, if either Barden's group or Harrah's gets the license, Plan B is still OK'd, and the Pens stay here, I can certainly live with that. It's for my own selfish reasons - namely, that it would still keep the Pens here, and I'd be lying if I said that wasn't the most important thing to me out of this whole process.

I listen to Madden occasionally. There are alot of stuff he says that get under my skin as much as the next guy. But I have to respect him, because he has never changed his ways. No matter how much of an idiot Smizik tries to make him out to be, he doesn't falter. He may be against every sport in Pittsburgh that doesn't involve the Pens and he may even sound like a shill for Mario, but in the end I think he wants what the rest of us want. The opinions on how to get what we all want may be different, but it's a common goal.

Furthermore, I don't think the Plan B sounds bad at all, but I am looking at the IOC plan as a whole. A Billion dollars to revitalize the lower hill. How could any government official not approve that plan? The Hill District has been neglected for far too long. And I'm happy to finally see someone, the Penguins of all people, partner up with someone who is willing to do something about it. You can certainly bet, that if the Pirates were in the same situation, McClatchy would be trying to put a park as far away from the Hill as possible.

What I find most interesting, is that the 'uptown' community hasn't come out yet and said "Where's Plan 'B' for us?".

While It's *possible* for Plan 'B' to keep the Pens in Pittsburgh, one of the best things IoC could do at this point, is to come out and say... OK, your Plan 'B' brings FC/Harrahs a bit closer to our plan (At least it builds an Arena, although it uses Tax money to do so) but we still don't see anything that addresses our Urban Renewal effort for the "Hill District". Tell us, what do you plan to offer in that regard in an effort to bring your plan closer to offereing what the IoC plan offers Pittsburgh as a whole?

That's actually a very good point, and is sort of like using the race card. However, it would be very effective in shifting attention back to the other merits of the Capri plan.

Although, I'm also thinking that if Onorato/Rendell have problems getting FC to sign off on Plan B, after all of yesterday's hoopla, that it would be a serious blow to FC's chances. As much as Rendell and Onorato are in favor of FC, they would not appreciate being embarrassed by their nonparticipation.